Virtual medal table predicts successful Olympics for Team Belgium
US consultancy Gracenote predicts 12 medals for Belgium at the Paris Olympics, putting the country 23rd in the medal table with four gold, two silver and six bronze.
The agency's virtual medal table is a statistical model based on individual and team results in previous Olympics, World Championships and World Cups.
If its prediction is accurate, it would be Belgium’s best tally since the 1924 Games, also held in Paris, when they won 13 medals – three gold, seven silver and three bronze. The record remains the 36 medals won at the Antwerp Games in 1920 – 14 gold, 11 silver and 11 bronze.
The US are predicted to top the table with 112 medals, followed by China and Great Britain. Hosts France are projected to finish in fourth place with 60 medals, almost doubling the 33 they won in Tokyo.
"To see two teams leave, decked out in Team Belgium kit, that’s really nice. It gives you a kick and it’s a goosebumps moment"
Last time, the Belgian delegation brought home three gold, one silver and three bronze medals from Tokyo 2020, finishing 29th in the table. They have high hopes of beating that tally this year, with strong contenders in the heptathlon, marathon, cycling, judo, basketball, hockey, sailing, equestrian sports and the 400m individual and relay events.
The men’s and women’s hockey teams were the first Belgian athletes to set off for Paris by train on Friday. “It really is Games time now,” said Cedric Van Branteghem, CEO of the Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee. “To see two teams leave, decked out in Team Belgium kit, that’s really nice. It gives you a kick and it’s a goosebumps moment.”
With the Games taking place so close to home, the former 400m runner hopes to see a lot of Belgian supporters in the city and at the various events. “I definitely want to encourage everyone to come to Paris,” he said. “It can only be an extra motivation for our athletes to perform.”
Members of Team Belgium at the Olympic Village in Paris, 23 July 2024 © PHOTO JOEL MARKLUND / BILDBYRÅN
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